Here is a letter from the ICC to Hon. John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship:

The ICC requests an immediate moratorium on the practice of citizenship revocation without the right to appeal.

Honourable John McCallum,

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Dear Minister McCallum,

As you know, in recent weeks several Canadian Senators and civil liberties organizations have expressed their concerns about cases of citizenship revocation based on provisions of a law introduced by the previous government’s Bill C-24, also known as the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, which allows for an individual’s citizenship to be revoked on the basis of misrepresentation in their citizenship process. While many of the unfair provisions of Bill C-24 are being reversed through the new Bill C-6, introduced by your Government and passed in the House of Commons, unfortunately the provisions of the law (C-24) which allows for citizenship to be revoked without the ability on the part of the accused to appeal the decision have not been reversed or amended.

While the Iranian Canadian Congress believes that the revocation of citizenship generally sets a dangerous precedent which violates the integrity of Canadian citizenship and ignores the harsh realities that immigrants and refugees face on their journey to Canada, we agree with the concerned Senators and the civil liberties organizations that the denial of the right to appeal this serious decision is particularly problematic and in need of immediate reform.

The Iranian Canadian Congress therefore requests your Government and the Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship to impose an immediate moratorium on the practice of the revocation of citizenship without the right to appeal and to support an amendment that would allow those who are subjected to such a law to appeal any decision in which their citizenship would be revoked. We believe that the current law poses a serious threat to the ideals of equality and justice upon which our contemporary Canadian society is built and that it is your responsibility to eliminate this threat.

Sincerely,

Pouyan Tabasinejad

Policy Chair

Iranian Canadian Congress